


Coffee and Rain

by Meabd



Series: The Ivory Tower [2]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Academia, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Ed is also a bumbling idiot, Everyone except for May is a bumbling idiot, M/M, NEWLY EDITED YAY, Roy is a bumbling idiot, Tabasco does NOT belong in lattes May
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-28
Updated: 2016-03-28
Packaged: 2018-05-29 19:11:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6389629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meabd/pseuds/Meabd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part of The Ivory Tower AU. Ed and Roy’s not-a-date date is in equal parts fantastic and awkward, and while coffee normally makes everything better, coffee with tabasco makes everything worse. Re-edited in anticipation of a third chapter coming out!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coffee and Rain

        It was only fitting that this pseudo-date would happen on what seemed to be the most depressing, wet, miserable day Roy had seen in his life. It was reminiscent of the night Roy met Ed barely a week prior— _had it really been so little time?_ Inside the warmth of Curtis Coffee, nestled up by the fire with a book and a latté, the weather seemed almost romantic. Outside, however, Poseidon had abandoned his post in the sea to open up the sky and send down the righteous judgement of flooding. Roy thanked his lucky stars for traction control, because on the four block drive it had taken to get here his car had been a breath away from hydroplaning the entire time. 

        The slightly damp doctor checked his watch for the umpteenth time—Ed was almost an hour and a half late. Roy was a patient man, but there comes a point when patience turns into the sinking feeling of _knowing_ that you’ve been stood up. Frankly, the only thing that had kept him there for this long was the stupid hope that the rain would let up. Since that didn’t seem like it would happen anytime soon, he decided to cut his losses, go home, and pour himself a stiff drink before the roads flooded too much to leave at all.

        Roy lost himself in this pity party as he packed up, wondering why his department chair had asked him out only to abandon him the day of. _I really hope this isn’t another stupid fucking test..._ his lips pursed together as he gave more thought to that. What if it _was_ another test? What if it was some kind of faculty hazing thing? Didn’t that only ever happen in movies, though? _Uhg_. 

        “I am _so_ sorry,” a familiar voice interrupted his thoughts, accompanied by the cool metal of a prosthetic hand gently grasping the moist cotton of Roy’s button-up. Ed, himself, looked as if he’d taken a swim fully clothed. 

        “I left like thirty minutes early, but when I tried to make it across the bridge it was flooded, so I had to walk half way across town to get to the _other_ fucking bridge, which was only _mostly_ flooded, and I lost my umbrella—not that it was doing me any good—but,” he withdrew his hand to rub it across his face wearily, “point is, I’m sorry I’m late. Can you wait just a minute longer while I go upstairs and put my clothes in the dryer?” Ed had already shrugged out of his soaking wet windbreaker.

        “Not a problem, Ed. I’ll grab us some coffee while I wait.” A sunny smile was Roy’s thanks... he suddenly didn’t mind at all the hour and a half wait. 

        “Great! I’m gonna borrow this—” the blonde grabbed Roy’s abandoned hoodie— “I have pants, but no shirt. I want a vanilla latté, give May my name, it should be on the house.” Roy watched as Ed disappeared behind the door marked _Employees Only_ , not waiting for a reply. Well, at least he hadn’t been stood up. Funny, though, that he had spare pants here. Even stranger was the presence of a _dryer_. Ed could have been going up to an apartment above the shop, but that begged the question how close he was with the owners of Curtis Coffee. _That’s a thought for another day,_ the brunette shook off his musings as he approached the counter, wallet in hand.

        “Put it away Dr. Mustang. We don’t charge Ed, and I’m hoping for some bonus points if I ply you with enough coffee,” May winked at him as she busied herself with Ed’s latté, steaming the almond milk and setting up the espresso machine.

        “Ms. Chang, you know I can’t give you any extra credit for free coffee,” grey eyes rolled so hard Roy could almost _hear_ the sarcasm.

        “Yeah, yeah. I knew it’d be too much to ask. Well whaddaya want then?” Roy glanced at the menu—for a small shop, Curtis Coffee really did boast a wide range of choices. He’d never been one for frills and lace, though, so anything beyond dark roast, light roast and blond was mostly foreign to him. 

        “Oh, I don’t know. Surprise me. Anything hot will do, other than that I leave myself in your _capable_ hands,” May’s hands stilled on the machine as colour flooded her otherwise pale cheeks. She arched one perfectly manicured brow, her features twisting from shock to suspicion. 

        “Sure thing lover-boy. Just don’t let Al see you flirting indiscriminately while on a _date_ with his _brother_ ,” May turned her back, bustling around the syrup pumps. Roy hardly thought that was fair ; he wasn’t _flirting indiscriminately_ , he was hardly flirting at all! He was just a very social, friendly person.  It wasn’t his fault that basic human kindness was so often construed as flirtation. Besides, he was just being _himself_. 

        “You know, I still haven’t actually _met_ Al yet,” Roy mentioned conversationally as he leaned one hip against the low counter.

        May shrugged, nonplussed by the change in topic, “well, you don’t oversee the PhD students. It’s understandable that you haven’t,” she flicked on the sink behind the counter, rinsing the sticky syrup off her fingers. “Besides, you’ll see him soon enough, he’s around Ed’s office all the time,” Roy wondered what kind of man Al was. If he was even half as odd as his mercurial brother, he didn’t know how he’d cope with _two_ crazy Elrics. Frankly, Roy had issues with just the one. 

        “How do you know Ed and Al?” May obviously wasn’t the same age, but they might’ve met here at the coffee shop. Roy _wasn’t_ looking for intel on his surprisingly private boss/crush, he _really_ wasn’t. 

      “They know my asshole half-brother. Here’s your coffee, don’t keep him waiting,” May shoved Roy’s cup at him and motioned toward the chairs by the fireplace where Ed was lounging, bare feet up and head back, his hair let loose from its braid and tumbling over his shoulders.

       _He looks fantastic in my clothes_ , Roy thought. Ed’s borrowed sweat pants were obviously too long for him, and he had rolled them up to the ankle, that coupled with the oversized hoodie painted a picture of homey comfort. Roy’s eyes raked over Ed’s body, but stopped on the metal foot. He had obviously noticed the automail hand, it was pretty hard not to. He hadn’t, however, known that he was a _double_ amputee. There was more to Edward Elric than meets the eye. 

        “Like what you see?” Ed teased, having caught Roy staring. Roy didn’t answer, rather he sank into the overstuffed red cushions and handed off the steaming cup labeled ‘Assgoblin’. _Hm. Miss Chang is_ very _creative with her insults..._ he turned his own cup, noticing that it was free of writing. Well, at least she had the good sense not to insult the man in charge of her grade. 

        “Our friendly barista has some choice words for you, Dr. Elric. How on earth do you manage to antagonise someone to the point of earning a moniker like Assgoblin?” Ed glanced at his cup, grimacing at the black sharpie he evidently hadn’t noticed.

        “Oh fuck off, May’s a grade A bitch when she wants to be. Don’t trust her _I’m just an innocent little girl_ look,” Roy stifled a laugh as he took a sip of his— _dear god in heaven what_ is _this?_

        “You let her pick for you, huh?” Ed laughed at Roy’s expression as he stared in abject horror at the innocuous paper cup in his hands. Ed swiped it, preparing to take a sip himself.

        “ _Don’t_. Unless you have a death wish,” Ed brushed off Roy’s warning and raised the paper cup to his lips. He looked as if he immediately regretted it. 

        “Yeesh. The girl adds tabasco to _everything_. Here, take mine. I’ve gotten used to her concoctions,” Roy felt a little bad that Ed was willing to martyr his taste buds for his sake, but not actually bad enough to protest. Some things just did _not_ belong in a drink.

        “So, May said you all knew each other through her... ‘asshole half-brother,’” Roy huffed a small laugh, which was matched by Ed’s indulgent smile, “what’s the story on that?” Sipping thoughtfully on the evil that was his coffee, Ed sat forward in his chair, resting elbow on knees. The light warmed the angular planes of Ed’s face, making poetry of shadows. Roy was mesmerised. 

        “Yea, that would be Ling. Those two never had the best relationship. He was a doctoral candidate of chemistry with me under Grumman... he was...” Ed uncharacteristically trailed off, his lips pursed into a rather unpleasant smile. _So there’s history there._ Roy filed that information away for later. Maybe he could have a little tête-à-tête later with the lovely Miss Chang. 

        “Right, well, what about your move here? You must miss Maine,” Ed smoothly changed subjects, his head tilting ever so slightly.

        “Well, yes and no. My closest friends were there, but we’ve all since scattered... there’s one at NYU, and another at Brown—and, well, me here.” Roy’s thoughts turned to Riza and Maes, his lips curled into a wry smile—he _did_ miss his friends, but there was nothing left for him in Maine. 

        “Quite the impressive line-up, there. Not that it surprises me, intelligent people tend to stick together,” Ed winked, his thinly veiled compliment both surprised and pleased Roy. 

        “Oh... I, um...thank you,” Roy tightened his grip on the now lukewarm latté in his hands. “Hey, I was wondering—and you don’t have to answer if it’s too personal, but—”

        “It was a car accident,” Ed interjected, his face closing into an unreadable expression. “I was eleven, Al was ten. My mom was driving in weather a lot like this. She lost control of the car and died on impact. Al was in a coma for a couple of years, and I got away with two shiny new limbs,” Roy sat back in his chair, taken aback. 

        Ed’s bangs obscured his eyes and his tone grew bitter. “You know, I think we’re done here,” his voice was hard, veritably chomping out words. He moved to rise, but Roy caught his metal wrist before he could. The look Edward gave him was so cold he felt this chill right down to his bones.

        “I—that’s not what I was going to ask,” the blonde looked at him through guarded eyes, biting his tongue— _for once_ —as he waited for Roy to continue. “It’s just... for a while there you were publishing an article or two every month, but recently you’re putting out four or five a year at best. I wanted to know what changed,” Roy let go of Ed’s wrist, the young man sat back in his own chair. Not _quite_ relaxed, but not fleeing either. 

        “Oh. I spent a lot of time with Al when he was in a coma. It’s easy to collect degrees when you have nothing better to do but sit in silence eight hours a day,” Ed took a sip of coffee with a pained expression that had nothing to do with the toxicity of his beverage. “When he woke up work just wasn’t a priority. I stopped publishing as much since I had Al to take care of,” Roy nodded in understanding, and the two sat in silence for a moment. This wasn’t what Roy had in mind for a first date. 

        “Look, it’s just—that’s the first thing people ask usually. And if they don’t ask they _stare_. I just assumed—” Roy held his hand up, silencing his companion.

        “It’s fine. I get it. I suppose I could have phrased that question better in any case,” Ed rubbed the back of his neck as Roy swiped a hand through his already messy hair.

        “Yeah, not the best start, huh?” Ed’s tone was light, though forced. “Do you have siblings, Roy?”

        Roy shook his head. “No... no, I grew up alone. My parents had died when I was young, so I was in the foster care system for a while,” Ed offered no platitudes, which Roy was eternally grateful for. “It got better when my Aunt Chris adopted me—I was _never_ alone after that,” Roy debated about how much to tell Ed ( _your boss_ , his mind annoyingly reminded him). “She ran an establishment of... questionable morals. Her girls always had time for me. It was rough getting through school being as broke as we were, but it all worked out in the end,” Ed looked thoughtful, though his eyes were surprisingly judgement free. 

        “Well, I’d say you turned out alright,” metal fingers played with strand of blonde hair, “you know, I read your doctoral thesis. It was _brilliant_. That’s why I offered you up to Grumman as my replacement,” Roy’s eyes widened. 

        “I—really? I didn’t know you had a hand in it.” Roy hated that his grin was so big, and he _hated_ the light, giddy feeling that he was fighting to suppress. 

        “Yeah. Don’t get too cocky about it bastard, just because you were my first pick doesn’t mean you can’t be replaced,” Ed winked, and Roy laughed at the faux threat.

        “Of course not, you’ve got to keep me on my toes, after all,” Roy reached a hand out, playfully tapping his companion’s thigh. 

        Ed smiled, “Damn straight I do.” 

        A silence, very unlike the previous one fell over the couple. Roy thought he saw something, just for a split second—something that looked very much like _affection_. But then the moment was gone, and Ed’s shoulders fell a bit as he turned his eyes away from Roy and down to his hip.

        Nimble fingers plucked his silver watch out of the sagging pocket of the sweatpants. Ed’s lips were pursed, not quite in a frown, but he didn’t look happy about it, either. “Hey, I’m sorry, but I have to be home soon or Al will kill me. If I want to make it in this rain, I should leave now. I’m gonna go get my clothes, sit tight,” Ed stood, throwing back the dregs of May’s science-experiment-cum-latté and turned toward the employee’s door. Roy sighed as he started to pack his things up, sliding his raincoat over his button up and grabbing the umbrella that had been leaning against the fireplace. 

        “Here’s your jacket. Thanks for letting me borrow it,” Ed tossed the dark blue hoodie at Roy’s face, and he was overwhelmed by the smell of _Ed_. Like sunshine, honey and leather. No one had the right to smell _that_ good. 

        “Yeah, sure. Do you want a ride back? It’s no problem,” Ed shook his head, his shoulders tensing just a bit. Roy winced at his own stupidity.

        “No, I’m alright. Thanks for the offer, but I’d rather walk. I don’t do cars,” _understandably so. Roy Mustang, your are an ass._  

        “Then keep the jacket and the umbrella, you need them more than I do,” Roy held them out for Ed, who looked at the proffered items like they would bite. Stupid though his thoughtlessness was, this situation was still salvageable. 

        “I’m not going to steal your—” Roy rolled his eyes and yanked the soft blue fabric over Ed’s blonde hair, taking the moment as an excuse to brush his fingers against Ed’s well formed (if a bit mismatched) shoulders. 

        “Just let me help you, idiot.” After much grumbling, Ed was comfortably situated in Roy’s too-big jacket, umbrella clenched a little too tightly in his flesh hand.

        “Look, in full disclosure, I’m weird as hell and even though we’re off to a pretty good start here, I’m kind of a dick with an excess of emotional baggage that you probably don’t want to have to deal with,” Ed’s posture was stiff and his face determined. “That being said, I think you’re pretty awesome and I hope you can keep putting up with my bullshit,” Roy smiled at Ed with no small amount of fondness.

        “Of _course_ I—” and before anything else could be said, Ed’s cold, chapped lips were pressed against Roy’s warm ones in the shortest, most awkward goodbye kiss he’d ever had the pleasure of experiencing.

        “I’ll see you Monday, asshole!” Ed was out the door before Roy could even begin to formulate an appropriate response. He stood there, fingertips pressed to his lips and staring out at the rain for far longer than he’d like to admit, thoughts full of sun and silver. 

**Author's Note:**

> This is a continuation of my Ivory Tower AU, so if you read this and are confused go back and read the first one pleeeease. There's two left in this AU that I'm DEFINITELY going to write (hey poker night and sick!Roy) But if you guys have any suggestions or requests for what you want to see, let me know in the comments below!


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